Harvey & Wokalup History
We are High-Flying Birds and Hardworking Nurserymen.
The area around Harvey is Bindjareb Boodjar (Country). The Bindjareb Noongar people have looked after the Djilba (estuary) and Harvey river system for 50,000 years, based on governance and lore.
They call Harvey, Korijekup, meaning The place of the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo.
In 1837, Governor Captain Sir James Stirling selected 12,800 acres of fertile land in Harvey called it the Harvey River Settlement. A shepherd, Mr Chapman, built the first hut in 1849.
John Thomson Logue, son of the Harvey district’s first settler Joseph Keys Logue, leased the Estate from 1870 to 1884. Over time, the Hut was extended and became known as ‘The Homestead’. It was built with pit-sawn jarrah slabs and had a shingled roof and hexagonal-shaped wooden block flooring.
Many Australind and Leschenault pioneer settlers also had land in the Harvey area, moving cattle herds between the hinterland and the coast with the season. However, they considered Harvey ‘station’ country.
Image: Original Stirling Homestead. Credit: Harvey Museum.
The Railway Line
In 1893, the South West Railway Line was extended from Pinjarra to Bunbury and, soon afterwards, the Harvey Railway Station was built.
Not only did this bring a mass of construction workers, the Railway line changed the face of the region, increasing the appeal and agriculture logistics for Harvey. For many years, the Harvey Railway Station was the central point of activity for the district.
Image: First Harvey Railway Station, 1900. Credit: Gibsone Family Collection and Memories of Harvey.
The Korijekup Fruit Settlement
The development of Harvey’s Famous citrus industry began in 1896 with the subdivision of the Korijekup Estate, owned by Drs Hayward and Harvey, into small 10-acre blocks. The fertile soil and favourable climate soon attracted nurserymen to the area.
Surveyed by William Bede Christie, the Fruit Settlement was based on east coat leading citrus regions, Mildura and Renmark. Christie also developed a booklet, Korijekup – The Fruit Settlement of West Australia, singing the praises of the area.
The opening of the South West railway line and the Harvey Station in 1893 had also made it possible for Harvey nurserymen to compete with citrus nurseries around Perth.
Image: Credit: AC Staples and Memories of Harvey.